S/2016 J 4

S/2016 J 4 is a small outer natural satellite of Jupiter discovered by Scott S. Sheppard on 9 March 2016, using the 6.5-meter Magellan-Baade Telescope at Las Campanas Observatory, Chile. It was announced by the Minor Planet Center on 24 January 2023, after observations were collected over a long enough time span to confirm the satellite's orbit.

S/2016 J 4
Discovery
Discovered byScott S. Sheppard
Discovery siteLas Campanas Obs.
Discovery date9 March 2016
Orbital characteristics
Epoch 25 February 2023 (JD 2460000.5)
Observation arc6.78 yr (2,475 d)
Earliest precovery date5 February 2016
0.1581850 AU (23,664,140 km)
Eccentricity0.1986458
–2.04 yr (–743.69 days)
138.36439°
0° 29m 2.661s / day
Inclination146.25507° (to ecliptic)
309.09022°
302.78410°
Satellite ofJupiter
GroupPasiphae group
Physical characteristics
Mean diameter
1 km
24.0
17.3

    S/2016 J 4 is part of the Pasiphae group, a dispersed cluster of distant retrograde irregular moons of Jupiter that follow similar orbits to Pasiphae at semi-major axes between 22–25 million km (14–16 million mi), orbital eccentricities between 0.2–0.6, and inclinations between 140–160°. It has a diameter of about 1 km (0.62 mi) for an absolute magnitude of 17.3, making it one of Jupiter's smallest known moons.

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